Swings, Rings, and Symbolic Things
by abbyfillion22
Summary: Taking place at the beginning of Valkyrie at the swings, this oneshot provides a slight bridge between the time jump.


There's pain in his every word he says; pain, frustration, and anger. His body turned slightly towards her with his hands clasped in his lap, he doesn't meet her eye; choosing instead to stare distantly at the ground in front of him.

They're at the swings-their swings-the place where they go to talk openly with each other. It's almost as if the juvenile setting changes them; makes them innocent for a few minutes while they sort things out.

The grass is a dark, lush green from the recent rainfall but the areas under the swings are brown and crusted from the traction of kids' shoes as they would drag their heels into the ground to slow momentum. In some places, there is only dirt and tiny tufts of green grass are struggling to reach the light.

She faces the opposite direction but looks directly at him; bracing herself for what's about to come. She has known that it was coming for a long time now and she's ready, but not willing.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett," he says.

She sucks in a breath and nods as she looks away. When she turns back, her heart drops to her stomach. He's on one knee, holding a ring between his thumb and index finger; an _engagement ring_, specifically.

Castle had picked that ring out a week ago. He had gone from jeweler to jeweler, trying to find the perfect one; one that held meaning and would define _her _somehow. Finally, at the twelfth store, he found it.

It's sterling silver-polished to a bright shine-with five perfectly cut diamonds: one for every year he knew her; one for every year he loved her. It's big, but not so opulent that a practical woman like Kate Beckett couldn't wear it in her day-to-day.

When he bought it, he could picture it hanging on the chain next to her mom's ring while she's on duty; resting over the tiny-nearly invisible-scar between her breasts, keeping the two most important people in her life close to her heart.

She stares at him, feeling her jaw go slack as the unexpected happens.

"Will you marry me?"

There's a beat of silence as she takes it in. He's still frowning and there are deep creases of worry lining his brow. She had imagined this moment in many cases, none of them even slightly resembling the reality of now. But it was perfect and horrible at the same time. He had completely blindsided her and now she's left dumbfounded.

"Oh my God," she hears herself say, standing up. The chains of her now vacant swing clink together at the sudden loss of weight. "Oh my _God_!" she says again, "You're proposing!" Her words sound angry but it's only pure surprise that results in her harsh tone.

Castle stands as Kate circles around until they're face to face.

He's taken aback by her response and he retreats slightly to shield himself. "Okay… you're surprised," he says tentatively, searching her face.

"Of course I'm surprised!"

He's relieved at the sudden lightness in her voice and he straightens up.

"I thought you were breaking up with me!" Beckett cries, her voice rising an octave.

He cocks an eyebrow. "By offering you a ring?"

The corners of Kate's lips begin to creep upwards. "It's- you just seemed so serious!" Relief surges through her and it's as if a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She feels like laughing or jumping up and down with joy because he hadn't dumped her.

"Of course I'm serious!" Castle's voice cracks as he tries to make light of the situation. "This is the most serious thing I've ever done!"

She grins from ear to ear and lets out a loud sigh. "Oh, God!" she laughs nervously, reaching out and grabbing his face, tugging him forwards until their lips meet. She kisses his bottom lip and his overlap her top as they tilt sideways, nearly toppling before regaining their balance on both feet.

When they part, the edges of his eyes crinkle when he smiles. "So that's a yes?"

Her face falls, finally remembering the question he had just asked. "No, wait-"

"No?" he says incredulously. He could have sworn that that kiss was her accepting.

"No, no, no, not no," Kate says quickly. She tries to find the right words but is tongue-tied; knowing that if she doesn't answer soon, he'll get the wrong message.

"So… yes?"

"No, not not yes…" Damn it, why can't she ever say the right thing when it matters most?!

He ducks his head to meet her flitting gaze. "You _do _know how this works, right?"

Kate's shoulders sag and she takes a deep breath. "There's something I gotta tell ya."

He waits for her to continue.

"I got the job," she says quickly.

Castle tilts his head. "In DC?"

She smiles sadly and lets her emotions take control of her speech, no holds barred. "Castle, I love you."

He bites his lip and gets ready for the "No".

"But this is my shot," Beckett says with a slight shake of the head. "And if I don't do this, I'll always regret it."

Castle nods.

Kate swallows hard and goes on. "Look, if this changes anything for you, if this changes how you feel-"

"Kate," he stops her, "I'm not proposing to keep you here or because I'm afraid of losing you. I'm proposing because I can't imagine my life without you. And if that means that when things get difficult, we have to figure them out, then I'm willing to figure them out; assuming you're willing to figure them out with me." Castle's surprised and kind of proud of himself for compressing all of this into those few sentences. It's the truth, he doesn't want her to choose one way or another because of him; he only wants to be included in whatever she decides. And whatever she chooses-wherever she goes-he'll go with her.

She smiles. He just said exactly what she needed to hear in that moment. "Well in that case, Richard Edgar Alexander Rogers Castle, yes," she breathes. "I will marry you."

He's overcome with happiness; finally living the moment he's waited years for. He remembers the first time he met Kate at the launch party of Storm Falls and how much she pretended to detest him for those first few weeks. He compares that love-hate relationship to now and he stifles a laugh to think that the Kate Beckett that interrogated him five years ago is standing in front of him, agreeing to marry him.

He slides the ring onto her finger and it's a perfect fit.

Kate looks at it. The ring literally and figuratively sets in stone their dedication to each other. "It's _big_," she remarks.

Castle turns her palm over and jokes, "You just have remarkably tiny fingers." It _does_ look huge compared to her thin digits.

She sighs and takes both of his hands, loving the cool feel of the silver wrapped around her finger. "We're going to be able to make this work, right?"

"It's going to be great," he assures her, taking a step forwards. "DC is going to be great. I promise." This time, he's the one to kiss her.

They walk out of the park, hand in hand. Neither can keep the smiles from their faces.

"You're my fiancé now," he remarks, just enjoying saying to words aloud.

Beckett smirks. "I know. You're my fiancé too." She never thought she'd see this day; her being engaged to Castle. Before she knows it, she'll be Kate Castle. Katherine Castle. Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle. Detective Kate Castle.

She'll always be Beckett to him, though.

They get to his car and she moves around to the passenger side.

Castle stops as he was about to toss her the keys. "What are you doing?"

"Getting in the car?"

"You're going to let me drive?"

Kate tilts her head. "Yes."

He does a mental fist pump before excitedly sliding in behind the wheel. "Where to now?"

Neither of them are sure. What are you supposed to do after getting engaged?

"Remy's?" she suggests their favorite local diner.

Castle nods and pulls out of the parking space, hitting traffic almost immediately. He reaches over the stick shift and takes her hand, flashing her a grin.

She shakes her head good naturedly and returns his smile.

"You're my fiancé now," he says again.

"I know," she humors him, "You're my fiancé too." Her phone rings and it's the 12th precinct. "Beckett," she answers. "Okay, be right there."

"Sorry, Castle, looks like dinner is going to have to wait," Kate apologizes as she replaces her phone back in her pocket. She gives him the address of the crime scene.

"No problem," he waves it off. "We can eat later. Now we have to solve our last case."

Her heart sinks, reminded that this _will _be the last time they'll work together. Next week she'll be in DC and he'll be in New York.

"And the real estate down there will be ten times better down there than it is here," Castle points out as they duck under the police tape. "You shouldn't have any problem finding a new place."

They walk around an ME van and catch sight of Dr. Lanie Parish bent over a body with a clipboard resting on her bent knee.

"Hey, Lanie," Beckett greets her friend. "What've we got?"

Lanie keeps her gaze affixed to the victim as she talks. "Multiple gunshot wounds to the head, no ID but," she looks up, "I'll get CSU to pull the prints and ohmyGod, is that what I think it is?" Lanie points to Beckett's left hand.

Beckett blushes and tries to turn the attention back to the vic but Lanie grabs her hand to examine the ring.

Lanie's dumbfounded; looking from the ring to Beckett to Castle. "Did you-?" she asks.

Beckett nods and Dr. Parish squeals. "Oh, girlfriend, I am so happy for you two! Castle, you sure can pick a stone, this is _gorgeous_!" she regards the ring.

"I know, right?" Beckett and Castle say in unison.

Lanie stares at them. "It's so cute how you two always do that."

Ryan and Esposito come up behind them. "What's cute?" they say together.

"Castle and Beckett," Lanie says vaguely.

"Oh, yeah," Esposito agrees sarcastically, not understanding what the big deal is. "Adorable." He turns to his partner and mimes gagging.

"Just for that," Castle raises an eyebrow, "you're not invited to the wedding."

"What wedding?" asks Ryan.

Beckett holds up her left hand, "Figure it out, detectives."

"No freakin' way!" Esposito exclaims. "What? When? How?"

"Oh, by the way," Beckett mentions, remembering that she had agreed to tell the boys about her job after she told Castle first. "I'm moving to DC."

"As in _Washington_?" Espo, Ryan, and Lanie ask in surprise.

Beckett cocks her head. "No DC Comics, yes Washington. I was offered a position with the Attorney General. Now can we please get back to the case?"

"Well congratulations on both parts," Ryan says.

Esposito isn't so accepting. "You're leaving us? Who's going to boss us around all day?"

"Gates," Castle points out.

"I'm sure you can boss yourselves around," Beckett assures him, kneeling down to examine the body. "I'll keep in touch."

"Man, everything's changing," Espo whines. "Ryan's having a baby, Castle and Beckett are engaged, Beckett's going to DC, Lanie and I are back together…" he mutters the last part under his breath.

"What?!" Everyone exclaims.

Lanie elbows him in the ribs. "Way to be subtle, Javi."

These are the scars deep in your heart

This is the place you were born

And this is the hole where most of your soul comes ripping out

From the places you've been torn

And it is always, always, always yours

And I am always, always, always yours

-_Always_, Switchfoot


End file.
